She'll do anything
by AlphaNogitsune
Summary: Winter has never lost at games. Even when the bets were high, even when sacrifices had to be made, she always won. Cross-posted on AO3
1. She loves to hunt

Her idea of love, before him, was that it was a farce, a fairytale made for girls to chase empty dreams. How could one manage to endure being with only one person?

The thing was beautiful, but she felt like it was impossible and void. Until she met him.

His crimson eyes and black hair, his instantaneous smiles, his hoarse voice. The second she saw him, she understood. Her heart raced, wild beating and the feeling of clarity. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She wanted to love him, and she craved for his love

And she would do anything to have him.

Qrow Branwen was two years older than her, but had failed one year, so he was there, on her school, looking good with that disheveled hair and not well tied necktie.

Winter fell in love.

She was quick to approach him. Although her hands were shaking, their conversation moved on quite smoothly. She only had to wait a bit until they graduated and then they could be together forever. Nothing would stop her. Months passed, he got along with a lot of people on the school, and he liked her…

But then.

Winter started to notice that her love was too close to a certain group of friends. Honestly, she would have no problem with that, if one of those friends were not a girl, a girl who he was _way_ too close to.

Summer Rose.

She was kind, had a very sweet heart, and was beautiful. It was enough to make Winter feel uneasy. But when she saw Qrow laughing with her, being so close to her, _smiling_ to her…

It made her sick.

Since the first weeks, she started to observe all people that close to him, and people close to that people. She kept one eye on everyone inside the school, from students to teachers, and gathered information on the ones she deemed most important. Soon Winter filled with details, schedules, info sheets, and she had a lot planned already. All she could get about anyone went into the board. Their lives and deaths were planned, if she ever needed.

But Summer? She was so good, so innocent, that she had no skeletons on her closet. No secrets, nothing to use against her. Winter's mind games would be worth nothing without something to pick and torment her with, wouldn't they?

She had no problem with killing; of course, she was more than capable of doing it. To have her Qrow, anything was worth It was just too messy, that was why she would rather play mind games, wreck the person until it was nothing but a living corpse. Even because she never lost at games.

First attempt was very friendly. Just a warning, a burn phone, another number, driving away from home. Summer didn't care. She was strong.

Things started to escalate. She had scheduled messages. It didn't work. When she told her friends (Winter included, since she got near their little group), her voice didn't even shake… Much. They insisted that Summer should take the messages to the police, but she refused to. "I won't let them get to me, don't worry. I'll change my number, though."

Well, that girl's bravery (or foolishness) had helped Winter a lot, otherwise she would have to get rid of evidences and get a new cellphone and number. Good Summer, good girl.

She trusted the white-haired one more than she should, enough to give the psycho her new number. Her rival believed they were friends. And, honestly, Winter wanted them to. She would have been a good friend.

(But her lover was priority, and Summer was caught between them, standing in the way of her happiness.)

The little girl and her Qrow hanged out during lunch; the threats got worse. _"Get away from him or you'll die soon."_ Summer didn't listen. Her love smiled at her in a way he did to no one else, not even herself. Winter was disgusted and made sure to let Summer know she would die.

 _"_ _I will kill you, I swear."_

 _"_ _Good luck about that. Qrow and I are best friends and I won't stop talking to him because of you. Whoever you are, you won't scare me."_

Summer lied about that. She admitted to be afraid, to feel under someone's watch. She was, indeed.

"Don't worry, Summer. Barking dogs never bite." The biggest lie she had ever heard. "But, if you want, I might spend the night at your home, keeping you company." Winter was so shocked and furious to hear _that,_ she ended up choking on her drink. What would they do…? Would he…?

No. _She_ had to be his first woman.

Later, Summer hugged _her Qrow_ and they walked home together. They went home together. He would stay there with a woman that was not Winter. Later at home, the infatuated girl broke a mirror out of anger.

That was the very last straw.

Knowing her rival, she asked for her notebook, under the pretense of comparing notes. Her true intention was to learn her handwriting. After three hours making it perfect, she made two notes; one asking Summer to meet her in the rooftop anonymously, after the class, and a suicide note. No one went through the rooftop or was on the grounds, where they could see her and Summer.

Summer Rose, one of the purest souls she had ever met. What a shame she had to die.

When the day came, Winter felt anxious and was tempted to go straight to the roof when the time came. While her "friend" didn't arrive, the petite girl looked at her phone, not knowing she was being watched. Getting near her, she looked over her shoulder to see what Summer stared so much at.

Pictures. Of her and Winter's love. Hugging, laughing, and in one of them he was kissing her cheek.

An unfathomable rage took her entire body like a flame that had met gasoline, and without thinking twice, Winter pushed Summer off the roof.

She was so good and kind, that she didn't even scream while falling or turning her head to see her killer. That was good. Someone who committed suicide did not scream.

To act, Winter screamed while Summer fell. She dropped the fake suicide note and ran down the stairs, while stuffing her gloves on her pockets, to find a way out and go to Summer's body, pretending to be desperate for her friend who had just jumped to death. When she arrived, her acting had brought fake tears and faltering voice to her, enhancing her "pain".

Inside, she was laughing out of joy. The blood coming out of the cracked head that had hit a rock was like a death sentence itself. She had no saving. Pleasure coursed through her body, making her shiver, contemplating victory. Her lover was hers now, and hers only.

They offered themselves to go with Winter until she got home, but she refused. She wanted to celebrate as soon as she got home.

Music on her room, a piece of cake, a glass of wine and her mother's wedding dress. The girl had been adjusting its measurements to her body since she fell in love with her Qrow, hoping to wear it one day. She dreamt with that day, when they would get married. She would wear diamonds and rubies, he would carry her on his arms and they would kiss… She got shivers of pleasure only thinking about it. He would finally wear a wedding ring with her name on it…

The next day, her headache helped pretending she was actually heartbroken with Summer's "suicide". They asked her what happened, handled her the note, and she cried more. She asked about Summer's group: Taiyang (who had a crush on her, by the way) had not attended school. Raven was there, but left pretty early; so did her man.

She took two classes, pretended to get a stronger headache, and then left, willing to make more adjustments and go to her love's home and see if he needed some company or support. It was never a bad time to get closer to her Qrow.


	2. They die like angels

Killing Summer got Winter advantages, but also brought more problems. Sigh.

They didn't find out that the suicide thing was actually Winter's deed. No, she had planned everything too well for that. The problem was that, now, she had to deal with Raven, since _she_ was becoming quite the threat.

There were two reasons for such. One was that she was starting to get in their way.

Since Rose's death, Winter had been getting closer to her love and his friends; she was trying to get everyone together only for his sake, helping them with whatever it was that they needed. She called them and offered to show up on their houses to make sure they were okay; all of that was part of her façade. It was all for him; the others could die for all she cared.

However, when they were planning on going out just the two of them, which had Winter crazy over what her love would appreciate more in matters of clothing, she got a text from him. Basically, he was cancelling their evening.

Because of Raven.

 _"_ _She has a crush on Tai, you know, but he loved Summer too much. And he sent her a pretty heartbreaking text. Not his intention, he is pretty much dense when it comes to realizing my sister loves him, but is a good heart nonetheless."_

 _"_ _However, now she is crying on her room and I feel like I have to stay and take care of her. Sorry, Win. I'm really sorry, but we've been taking it really hard these last days."_

She even tried to save a bit of their evening, to no avail.

 _"_ _Do you want my help? I can drop by and take something for you two."_

 _"_ _No, I guess we need some alone time."_

She broke her glass on her hand after that and almost tainted her mother's precious dress. Winter used to sew and adjust it whenever she was happy, too excited or anxious; it helped her to relax. But she was so furious that a better option was to prick her skin with the needle countless times.

Winter had always been jealous of her lover with any woman, but never really saw Raven as a problem. After all, they were siblings, which meant Qrow would never see her as a possible love interest. But the woman was starting to take her man from her, something unbearable and unacceptable.

And if that was not enough, there was the second reason: Raven intended on investigating Summer's death herself.

"Do you think you can do it?"

"Well, I have to try, and Qrow will help me. I've known Summer for years; there is no reason for her to just kill herself. She was so happy…"

"Raven, suicidal people can hide their intentions. She must have hid it, to avoid worrying you and Qrow. Please, it will only hurt you more." Winter tried to play it off; she could not, _would not_ , deal with her digging around the circumstances on the girl's suicide.

That woman was intelligent, _very_ intelligent. Raven would end up finding some clue, some loose end that would end Winter's game. Intelligent AND persistent. On her definition, an annoyance.

One she would soon get rid of, obviously.

It was also Summer's fault. Even after her death, she was messing things, influencing people and putting her and her Qrow apart. Now someone else had to die. She admitted it, killing Raven made her a bit sad. She knew how much Qrow loved his sister, she wanted Raven to be her bridesmaid, and Winter wanted to attend to her sister-in-law's wedding too, having her future husband with her. But that would soon become impossible.

Like Summer Rose, Raven herself didn't have any dark secrets, anything she could use to break her new rival's mind _yet_ , but she would get something. She would investigate and find out. She could use her crush on Tai… Yes, but she'd need more. Something to push the woman out of the edge.

While she didn't find out, she'd go for her usual game.

She started to send messages, telling Raven things to make her scared and paranoid, at the same time she watched her entire life, making sure to keep up with school. It was easy, actually, and nothing new to Winter. Also slightly tiring, but until she got what she wanted, that was how it was going to be.

One day, while watching her lover's house, hidden on her car, waiting to see something interesting (him, maybe?), the white-haired girl spotted his sister leaving. She was looking good, with a short and tight black dress, and her hair up. Also, high heels.

Where would she go? Winter, of course, followed, because whatever Raven had to do out of her home, at that hour, with that look, was definitely not good. And anything "not good" would become perfect for Winter. Well, she had found out something pretty fast, hadn't she?

Her path took them to one of the most crowded spots on the city during nightlife, life buzzing everywhere, and it was necessary for Winter to leave her vehicle in order to keep up with her prey; however, the people coming and going would hide her well. The cold air hit her face and she rolled up the scarf tighter around her neck, glad it would also hide her identity.

And Raven stood in front of a hotel, waiting for someone, clearly. But whom? Maybe Taiyang?

No, it was not. And it made Winter's jaw drop in shock and amusement.

It was an old man, seemed like some kind of rich manager, who had _at least_ twice Raven's age. Well, was she a prostitute? Or just engaging on compensating dating? (There _is_ a difference, right?) Either one would end up being very, deliciously, scandalous.

Winter knew it was not much, but she'd been piling up tension and fear on Raven's mind for days already. She was growing impatient; why were there so many troubles on the way of her happy ending? She longed for action.

And then she was delighted, taking dozens of pictures, one after another. That was just _great_. Wouldn't it be even better if she got more pictures, with different men? It would prove that Raven had that as a regular habit, and she would have a bunch of evidence to destroy her life.

And she did. She did it again, two nights later, with a boy, probably their age. Four nights later, with a woman, this time, only two or three years older than her. Winter didn't need anything more than that. Why had that suddenly started, didn't really matter at all to her.

At school, Raven showed signs of being miserable. Miraculously, she did not tell Qrow or Winter or Taiyang about her bullying, (which made her effort to not be tracked kind of useless) perhaps out of shame? Or, maybe, fear that the person might go after her if she told anyone? Or was she trying to be strong?

Beautiful, poor Raven… What a shame she had to be so nosy and a pain in the ass.

Well, it was time. Raven was pretty messed up. Time to act.

Winter, as usual, was prodding at the sister's heartbreak, how she was just miserable and how it would be better if she just killed herself, when she sent three samples to the girl, waiting for her priceless reaction.

The psychopath's heart was beating strongly with anxiety, she was feeling one incredible rush of power and insanity into her veins. She felt like laughing out loud and, to keep her mind more tamed, her nails were scratching her arms and thighs; it burnt into her flesh. But Winter was just so happy, she didn't care.

 _"_ _What is this? Isn't this you?"_

 _"_ _No… Where did you find this?"_

 _"_ _Wouldn't it be soooo bad if Qrow or Taiyang… Accidentally… Stumbled upon this? Or even the entire school?"_

 _"_ _Please, don't. My brother would be so ashamed, Tai would never look at me again…"_

 _"_ _Is this a challenge?"_

 _"_ _Don't you dare."_

Raven didn't even know that it was all a waste of time. The entire school had the pictures before that conversation had even started.

 _"_ _Already did. Well, now you have one choice."_

 _"_ _Wait and see to how disgusted they are with you, or kill yourself right now to avoid seeing people, and your love, hating you with their guts."_

 _"_ _In the end, no one would miss you, anyway. Good night."_

She drove out of her house and threw the chip away after smashing its circuit. Then she hanged around the town for a while, trying to relax her nerves. She was so anxious. She wanted to see Raven's body lying dead, blood getting colder with each second, her eyes lost into infinity, her skin growing pale…

How would she kill herself? Perhaps cutting her wrists? If so, she should cut them on the vertical, other than crossing the wrist from side-to-side. That way was less effective and more painful. Or would she overdose? Then she should drink it down with some alcohol; it would increase the toxicity of whatever medicine she took. Medicines on their own weren't the best way to die, anyway, so it was better to be sure it would kill.

The consciousness she would never again pose a threat to her and her lover on any level made her feel the same satisfaction that took her when she saw Summer's blood. She wanted to celebrate, but first she had to wait for the confirmation Raven was dead. And it came.

Next day, her man didn't show up at the school. Police did, instead. They called the professors and the students closer to her prey to see what they could find out, Winter included.

She did not worry about it. They did not have her as a suspect, yet they were trying to find out if Raven just had previous suicidal thoughts or was _driven_ to suicide and someone made it look like she killed herself.

In the end, Winter told what she would have thought if she was just anotherone of her friends. "She looked depressed, but never mentioned anything. I thought it was because of Summer's death and Taiyang rejecting her, but I was wrong… God, I feel so guilty…" And they bought it. Easy.

As soon as the classes were over, she went to her Qrow's house. He would be heartbroken, and she wanted to take care of him. She wanted to tell him everything would be fine, _she_ would make everything fine for him, but it had to get worse first. She wanted to say that they would be together forever and she would never leave him, she wanted to tell him about her undying love and all of the sacrifices she had made…

One thing went through her mind in that second.

All of the women who were noticeably close to her love ended up dead. It was clearly someone targeting the girls close to him; otherwise, other victims would have shown up already. If someone unrelated to him was targeted and died now, after two deaths, it would be clearly an attempt of dismissing the police, and would only draw more attention. If a man close to him (on this case, Taiyang) was targeted and died, it would not erase the true problem, only made it worse.

She was a woman. She was close to Qrow.

Winter would have to hunt herself.


End file.
